IIFA Awards 2014: Excellence in cinematic achievements for Bollywood

The IIFA Awards or International (North) Indian Film academy Awards are a set of awards that are organized to acknowledge the artistic as well as technical excellence of professionals in Bollywood. The awards are presented annually by the International Indian Film Academy. Initiated in 2000, the award ceremony is organized in different countries across the world every year. 

The 15th IIFA Awards were held and presented at Tampa Bay Area, Florida USA from April 23 to 26, 2014. The Tata Motors IIFA Awards was held at the Raymond James Stadium, USA. The hosts for the event were Farhan Akthar and Shahid Kapoor; the duo kept the complete audience entertained with their humour throughout the evening. In the Award ceremony, there was also wit and laudable on-stage camaraderie with sets varying from live-rap with the audience to a celebrity antakshri.

Some of the main highlights of the event include the launch of IIFA Coffee Table Book by the Founder- Directors of Wizcraft International Entertainment – Sabbas Joseph, Andre Timmins and Viraf Sarkari along with superstar Hrithik Roshan.

Madhuri Dixit Nene stole the show with her performance on Ek Do Teen, Piya Ghar Aaya, Dhak Dhak Karne Laga, Dola Re Dola. There was also an electrifying performance by Hrithik Roshan on his hit numbers- Idhar Chala Main Udhar Chala, Mein Aisa Kyun Hoon, Dhoom, Bhoomro Bhoomro, Senorita and many more.

Also, Deepika Padukone performed on Dhol Bhaje and many more. Priyanka Chopra performed on – Mujse Shaadi Karogi, Tune Maari Entriyaan, Jaane Kyon Dil Chahata Hai, etc.. Other performers of the event were Siddharth Malhotra and Ranveer Singh.     

List of Winners: Best Picture
Viacom 18 Motion Pictures & Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra		Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Direction
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra		Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Performance in a Leading Role (Male)
Farhan Akhtar		Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Performance in a Leading Role (Female)
Deepika Padukone		Chennai Express
Performance in a Supporting Role (Male)
Aditya Roy Kapoor		Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
Performance in a Supporting Role (Female)
Divya Dutta		Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Performance in a Comic Role
Arshad Warsi		Jolly LLB
Performance in a Negative Role
Rishi Kapoor		D-Day
Music Direction
Mithoon, Ankit Tiwari, Jeet Ganguly		Aashiqui 2
Best Story
Prasoon Joshi		Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Lyrics
Winner	Song		Film
Mithoon	Tum Hi Ho		Aashiqui 2
Playback Singer (Male)
Winner	Song		Film
Arijit Singh	Tum Hi Ho		Aashiqui 2
Playback Singer (Female)
Winner	Song		Film
Shreya Ghoshal	Sunn Raha Hai		Aashiqui 2

Best Debutant Male
Winner	Film
Dhanush	Raanjhanaa
Best Debutant Female
Winner	Film
Vani Kapoor	Shudh Desi Romance

·         Outstanding Contribution by an Indian in the US: Drs. Kiran & Pallavi Patel

·         Entertainer of the year: Deepika Padukone

·         Outstanding Contribution to International Cinema: John Travolta

·         Lifetime Achievement: Shatrughan Sinha 

Amitabh Bachchan: Shahenshah of Bollywood

Amitabh Harivansh Bachchan also known as the Big B is an Indian film actor, who has appeared in more than 180 films. Born on 11 October 1942 in Allahabad, he is the son of late poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Teji Bachchan. He did his schooling from Sherwood College, Nainital and completed his graduation from Delhi University.

Amitabh Bachchan is considered as one of the most influential and greatest actors of IndainCinema. Along with his exemplary acting, he is mostly adored for his sonorous baritone, his verbal gifts that make his speech sound like a Mosaic proclamation. He is one of the first Bollywood actors, who adopted authentic Bombay street slang in his flair for mimicry for portraying his gangster roles.

In 1969, he made his debut in the hindi film, Saat Hindustani. By the early 1970’s he gained popularity amongst the audiences as the "angry young man" because of his lead roles in series of films, including Zanjeer, Lawaaris, Coolie and many more. He was acknowledged by his fans for his performances in films like Naseeb, Silsila, Laawaris, Coolie, Shaarabi and Jaadugar. During the tenure of 1970s to the early '80s, he made his notable performances in more than 100 films. 

 Mr. Amitabh Bachchan has worked with India's most acclaimed directors, including Prakash Mehra. He made the silver screen dominated with his films like Sholay, Trishul and Chashme Buddoor. For his dominance in Indian films, French director François Truffaut named him a "one-man industry".

He has won numerous awards for his notable contribution in the Indian Film industry, including three National Film Awards as Best Actor. In addition to these, he has also received fourteen Filmfare Awards and many awards in international award ceremonies and film festivals. He is also honoured with the Padma Shri in 1984 and the Padma Bhushan in 2001 by the Government of India for his contributions towards the arts.

Some of his Awards include:

·         1969: Best Newcomer National Film Award for Saat Hindustani

·         1971: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Anand

·         1973: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Namak Haraam

·         1976: Filmfare Best Actor Award for Amar Akbar Anthony

·         1978: Filmfare Best Actor Award for Don

·         1984: Padma Shri

·         1990: National Film Award for Best Actor for Agneepath

·         1990: Filmfare Best Actor Award for Hum

·         1991: Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award

·         2000: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Mohabbatein

·         2000: Superstar of the Millennium in 2000 at the Filmfare Awards

·         2001: Padma Bhushan

·         2004: Filmfare Best Actor Award & Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor for Black, National Film Award for Best Actor

·         2007: Knight of the Legion of Honour, by the French Government

·         2009: National Film Award for Best Actor for Paa 

Asha Bhosle: The Singing Sensation

The versatile Asha Bhosle is one of the highly regarded and best-known Hindi playback singers in India, who has sung over 12,000 songs. Born on September 8, 1933, she is commonly referred as Ashaji by her fans. She started her career in 1943 and has participated in several solo concerts and recorded numerous private albums in India as well as abroad.

Asha Bhosle is the sister of the legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar. Like her sister Lata Mangeshkar, she was also trained by her father Dinanath Mangeshkar in classical music. Known for her voice range, she is credited for her versatility. She has recorded folk songs, qawwalis, film music, pop, bhajans, ghazals, traditional Indian classical music, Nazrul Geetis and Rabindra Sangeets. Along with hindi songs, she has sung in more than 20 Indian and foreign languages. She has sung in many languages including Tamil, English, Assamese, Urdu, Telugu, Gujarati, Punjabi, Marathi, Bengali and many more.

She made her debut in Hindi film, Chunariya with a song called "Saawan Aaya" and since then she is noticed for her different playful voice. Asha Bhosle has done playback singing for more than thousands of Bollywood films. Her duets with Rafi like Uden jab jab zulfein teri, Maang ke saath tumhara and Saathi haath badhana, earned her recognition. In September 2009, she was recognised as the "Most Recorded Artist" in the world by an international organization, ‘the World Records Academy’. This academy recognizes and certifies world records.

Asha Bhosle is also acknowledged as the most recorded artist in music history by Guinness Book of World Records in 2011. Adding a feather to the cap is the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2000 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008 that were awarded by the Government of India. She has also debuted as an actress in the film Mai in 2013 and has also received critical acclaim for her performance.

Recently, she has been nominated for the prestigious Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World-Music Album. Still being at the age of 70, there is no stopping Asha Bhosle…